The best places to emigrate to

One of the most important things about emigrating is that it is, of course, a lifestyle change – and it’s also a big transition, a major event. It’s a biggie.

So when you go to live overseas, it’s important to go with what you feel is right. And there is no single destination that everyone shares the same set of opinions about. Take somewhere like Zurich, for instance….

Zurich rates extremely high for quality of living. Clean air, beautiful architecture, handy location in the centre of Europe with trips to France, Italy, Germany, Austria always a possibility given their proximity. Great Swiss dairy products (yum!) and confectionery, plus exemplary public transport infrastructure and vehicles. Amazing scenery. And yet not everybody loves Switzerland. In fact some people think it’s a bit dull and would rather live elsewhere.

In the absence, then, of a consensus of opinion regarding where to live, it’s best to look at your own expectations, values and priorities, and work it out from there. For some, sunshine may be the most important factor – and this no doubt explains the number of UK nationals who go to live the expat life in Australia or Spain. Australia and Spain are both in the top 3 destinations for British people living abroad so it’s probably fair to say that the UK’s mild but often grey and wet climate isn’t something that many people list among their reasons for living there.

The best places to emigrate to may not be immediately apparent – in fact there are lots of expats around the world who have ended up where they are as the result of serendipity – a chance meeting leading to romance, then marriage and expatriation in some far-off corner of the globe.

However despite the fact that we all have different tastes in countries, cities, culture and so on, there are likely to be things that the majority of us would agree on when considering a new place to live:

Safety. Not maybe in terms of overall crime rate, but certainly in terms of being able to go about day to day life without being in danger.

Work opportunities. With the exception of retired expats of course. The work may not need to be the highest paying gig in the world, but we all need to earn a living.

Beyond these two sine qua nons though, pretty much everything is debatable.

Me? I like to go where the eating is good! And for that reason, Switzerland never bores me when I’m there…